With ongoing negotiations to end Illinois’s historic budget impasse, State Senator John Mulroe has introduced a plan to examine the billions of dollars that the state gives away in tax credits every year.

“Before increasing taxes and burdening the middle class, we must have an honest assessment of our budget priorities and examine every dollar the state is spending,” Mulroe said. “While many of the state’s tax credits benefit important components of our economy, we are facing a fiscal crisis and have to ensure that we create the best deal possible for taxpayers. Every dollar counts.”

Senate Bill 472 eliminates a number of tax exemptions that currently go to large corporations. These tax credits result in nearly $2 billion in lost revenue for the state of Illinois. Mulroe’s plan also caps deductions and credits for Illinoisans who file joint returns with income over $500,000 and ensures that everyone pays their fair share.

“Due to the pressure that the governor’s $5 billion budget gap has placed on the state, we need to take a fresh look at state spending, including tax credits,” Mulroe said. “If certain tax credits are not meeting their intended goals, then taxpayers shouldn’t be forced to subsidize corporate welfare at a time when social service agencies are closing left and right.”

Mulroe is hoping that by introducing this plan he will spark a robust conversation with his Senate colleagues on how to end the impasse and balance the needs of working families and taxpayers with economic development.

“Through my experience as a CPA, I believe that we must have a modern tax code that reduces the burden on the working class and acknowledges how business is conducted in this day and age with technology advancements that have made it easier to operate a business.”

Today marks the 10-year anniversary of the passage of the Smoke-Free Illinois Act, which banned smoking in indoor public areas, workplaces and within 15 feet of the entrance to those facilities. Since then hospitalizations from asthma, heart attacks and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease have decreased by 20.5 percent.

“Passing Smoke-Free Illinois was a huge step toward making our state healthier,” Mulroe said. “Though many tobacco-related hospitalizations have been reduced, we still have a lot of work to do. In Illinois, a little over 15 percent of adults smoke, and each year and more than 18,000 Illinois residents die as a result of tobacco use. That’s why I sponsored Senate Bill 3011 last year to raise the legal smoking age from 18 to 21.”

By increasing the legal age of smoking in Illinois to 21, The National Institute of Medicine estimates that 25 percent fewer youths would start smoking with a 12 percent decrease in general smoking rates.

“Tobacco kills more people than AIDS and car accidents,” Mulroe said. “I think we need to reconsider how young people get started smoking and work to promote healthy choices.”

SPRINGFIELD – Senate Bill 1799 introduced by State Senator John G. Mulroe (D-Chicago) seeks to reduce the time juveniles are kept in custody upon arrest to, in turn, decrease the likeliness that a juvenile will be re-arrested later in life. SB 1799 requires juveniles to appear before a judicial officer within 48 hours of being taken into custody, regardless of weekends and court holidays.

“Studies have shown that reducing the amount of time that a juvenile spends in custody will decrease the likeliness that that individual will be arrested again and their likeliness of joining the adult prison population,” Mulroe said. “This is a common sense piece of legislation.”

Under current law, a minor must appear before a judicial officer within 40 hours of detainment, not including weekends or court holidays. To help facilitate the change of including weekends and court holidays, the minor may appear through two way audio-visual communication.

“While working as an assistant state’s attorney, I saw defendants with criminal records extending back to when they were teenagers,” Mulroe said. “Plenty of crime occurs by repeat offenders. This legislation is another approach to curb the rates of re-arrest.”

SPRINGFIELD –Today the Illinois Senate declared March 15, 2017 as Adult Down Syndrome Awareness Day, approving a resolution introduced by State Senator John G. Mulroe (D-Chicago). Approximately one in every 700 children born in the United States is born with Down syndrome, making it the most common chromosomal condition.

“I think it’s important to recognize the strides that have been made to improve the quality and length of life for adults with Down syndrome,” Mulroe said. “Now, many adults with Down syndrome are able to live independently or with some assistance, hold jobs and participate in volunteer work. In my district, many adults with Down syndrome have received help and support from the Adult Down Syndrome Center at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital.”

The Adult Down Syndrome Center at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital was established in 1992 and provides care at nearly 7,000 annual patient visits, making it the busiest clinic of its kind in the nation. The clinic works to enhance the well-being of adolescents and adults with Down syndrome through community-based health care services.

Though the life expectancy for an individual with Down syndrome has increased dramatically over the past 40 years, adults with Down syndrome still have a higher rate of additional medical complications such as congenital heart abnormalities and Type 1 diabetes as compared to the general population.